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Pliotographic 

Sciences 
Corpordtion 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


£? 


L^/ 


CIHSl^^/JCMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  fcr  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


O^ 


i 


Technical  md  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
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L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
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point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


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Couverture  endommagde 


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D 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachdes 


n 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


n 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


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Quality  in6gale  de  I'impression 


D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 


□    Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 


0 


D 


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La  reliure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
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have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  dtd  filmdes. 


I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


□ 


Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
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D 


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□    This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 
Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


/ 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Metropolitan  Toronto  Library 
Canadian  History  Department 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

Metropolitan  Toronto  Library 
Canadian  History  Department 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
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filming  contract  specifications. 


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plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  filmds  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmSs  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  —^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  §tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1  2  3 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

A 


CANADIAN    EXCURSION 


SUMMER    OF    1885. 


!t 


A 


CANADIAN    EXCURSION 


SUMMER    OF    1885. 


BY   FREEMAN    C.   GRISWOLD. 


(Printed  for  Private  Circulation.) 


GREENFIELD,  MASS. 

FIELD  &  HALL.  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTERS, 

MDCCCDXXXY. 


dMHHHI 


M 


MEMBERS   OF   PARTY. 


Mrs,  John  D.  McKnicut, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Lee  Bowles, 
Miss  Cornelia  H.  Harris, 
Miss  Sophie  Stebuins, 
Miss  Mary  G.  Stebbins, 
Miss  Lulu  B.  Whitcomb, 
Miss  J.  Lillian  Doty, 
Miss  J.  Edith  Larremore, 
Miss  Edith  C.  Brewer, 
Mr.  Will.   F.  Baker, 
Mr.  George  D.  Chamberlain, 
Mr.  E.  H.    Hall, 
Mr.  Frank   B.  Marsh,     . 
Mr.  Fred  H.  Stebbins, 
Mr   Walter  G.  Stebbins, 
Mr.  a.  Oatman, 
Mr.*Free.man  C.  Griswold, 


Springfield,  Mass. 


New  York  City. 

(4 

Hartford,  Conn. 
Springfield,  Mass. 


Hartford,  Conn. 
Greenfield,  Mass. 


HP 


,; 


"  Memory  is  the  best  historian,  and  what  I  bring  y  )U  here 
are  but  as  outline  drawings,  to  which  your  own  memories  must 
impart  the  fullness  of  form, the  richness  of  coloring,  and  the  fairy 
tints  which  the  scenes  themselves  possessed." 


I 


»<««|E<SI»«XC 


^ 


A  CANADIAN  EXCURSION. 


It  "\ras  oil  tlie  evLMiiiifj^  of  July  23rd,  18^5,  that  one  of  tlie 
most  remarkable  travelling  parties  on  record  started  from  the 
City  of  Springfield  with  (Quebec,  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Sagne- 
nay  rivers  as  their  objective  points. 

Why  impose  on  yonr  historian  the  impossible  task  of  setting 
down  in  (!old  words  of  lifeless  prose  all  the  events,  incidents 
and  adventures  of  this  trip,  which  will  live  forever  in  your 
memories,  which  need  no  words  of  his  to  recall.  But  notwith- 
standing the  uselessness  of  this  effort  your  historian  enters  upon 
it  as  a  pleasant  duty,  that  he  may  himself  live  over  again  those 
happy  hours  before  coming  down  to  the  dull  common-places 
of  hum-drum  life. 

A  night  of  profound  shimber,  broken  only  liy  maidens' 
chattering  and  feasting,  brought  us  to  Newport,  Vt.,  at  the 
l>"ad  of  Lake  Memphremagog,  at  which  point  we  arrived  at 
C)  A.  M.,  all  having  arisen  and  dressed  for  the  fray  some  two 
hours  earlier.  About  an  hour  later  we  begin  our  regular  early 
breakfast.  I  love  to  look  back  on  that  first  buffet  breakfast, 
apart  from  the  appetizing  morsels  so  promptly  served,  because 
it  is  associated  in  my  mind  with  two  things  :  first,  those  lovely 
new  travelling  dresses — not  yet  become  common-place  by  con- 
stant use  as  walking,  travelling  and  party  costumes,  (even  the 


A  Canadian  Excursion, 


celluloid  "olliir  "of  Mr.  M,  still  fresh  and  crisp),  no  cruel  spark 
or  cinder  as  vet  ravay:inyr  in  their  dainty  folds,  undressed  kids 
not  even  hinting  at  holes  or  tears.  We  were  indeed  overpow- 
ered with  the  {esthetic  shades  of  those  costumes  and  rejoiced 
exceedingly  at  the  small  bags  which  the  voung  ladies  carried, 
knowing  that  we  were  to  hav(  lo  daily  change  of  costume  and 
that  we  were  truly  going  in  a  direction  away  from  Saratoga. 
I  think  even  the  girls  were  surprised  to  find  how  charming 
they  could  be  with  only  one  suit  of  clothes.  Second,  be- 
cause Mr.  C.  and  Mr.  M.  bad  not  at  that  early  meal  for- 
mulated their  afterwards  celebrated  "ticket  system"  of 
assigning  partners  at  our  various  meals,  a  system  so  emi- 
nently fair  and  appropriate  that  there  was  no  revolt  until  it 
was  discovered  that  Messrs.  C.  and  M.  always  drew  prizes. 
Hut  rising  f'/?  /)i((Sfte^  like  the  tides  of  the  mighty  river  we  were 
on,  at  the  discovery  of  this  barefaced  plot,  it  was  left  to  Miss 
II.  and  Mr.  O.,  as  representing  the  enraged  party  to  arrange 
the  seats  not  by  a  fortune  so  fickle,  but  by  the  more  appropri 
ate  test  of  each  one's  inclination,  in  order,  as  Miss  li.  felicit- 
ously expressed  it,  "  that  they  all  might  look  so  happy."  It 
waa  the  death  blow  to  the  "  ticket  system,"  and  the  course  of 
true  love  ever  after  ran  smoothly  as  we  glided  over  the  dark 
waters  of  Canadian  rivers  and  regaled  ourselves  at  the  hospita- 
ble Canadian  inns. 

But  I  am  digressing.  Let  us  return  to  that  July  Friday 
morning  a»  we  go  steaming  down  through  the  lovely  valley  of 
the  Chaudiero  to  the  storied  City  of  Quebec.  We  are  all  in 
high  spirits.  We  have  just  l)egun  to  get  so  well  acquainted  ! 
Our  minds  are   freighted   with   anticipations  of  pleasures  in 


Summer  of  18S5. 


store  and  (lclii;]its  hi.  2>r((>senti  ^  no  need  of  book  or  cigar  or 
pack  of  cards  to  while  away  the  time.  Tlie  villaiies  nish  by, 
as  if  we  were  on  tlie  Pennsylvania  liailroad  instead  of  tlie 
slow-<2;oini>-  (Quebec  Central.  The  darkey's  i>ongs  even  prove 
an  interruption  to  our  pleasure  ;  and  one  in  particular,  (intro- 
ducing' to  us  a  new  nienil)er  of  our  party,  "  AEr.  Chingling,") 
provokes  a  look  on  the  face  of  Miss  II.  more  like  a  premature 
Lake  l\[em[)hreniagog  thunderstorm,  than  any  other  simile  we 
have  at  hand.  Why  did  we  not  have  our  j)hotographer  along  to 
j)ermanently  preserve  that  glance  i  If  he  had  been  with  us 
we  could  also  have  brought  l)ack  with  our  other  souvenirs  the 
following  views  :  JNCr.  ll.'s  shine  ;  ]\[r.  M.  and  Miss  L,  in  their 
sheol  representation  ;  ^[r.  C.  as  the  Knight  of  the  haunnock; 
Miss  D.  as  the  Sleeping  six  o'clock  beauty  ;  your  historian  in 
the  act  of  taking  a  lesson  in  French  or  searching  for  a  straw 
hat  in  the  deep  black  waters  oi  the  Saguenay  ;  but  enough, 
we  only  had  our  photographer  with  us  as  far  as  Brattleboro, 
and  the  iickle  |)hotograi)her  of  memory,  aided  by  imagination 
is  all  we  have. 

We  ai'e  in  (Quebec  !  Allow  my  Connecticut  Yalley  muse 
for  one  instant  to  try  and  raise  herself  into  the  misty,  cloudy 
heights  of  this  lovely  scene.  Alas  I  how  can  she  appreciate  or 
describe  the  scene  that  bursts  upon  our  vision.  There  stands 
the  famous,  mighty  city.  She  bids  defiance  to  the  world. 
Two  ijiant  rivers  intersect  each  other  at  her  feet,  and  yet 
their  nughty  waves  and  currents  and  tides  break  along  lier 
Itase  like  little  bi-ooks — so  grand  she  stands  !  What  a  peak  ! 
AV^ell  named  Quebec.  JJut  our  muse  falters  and  staggers  and 
whispering,    "  how  much   grander   than   the   Agawam,"  falls 


10 


A   Canadian  Excursion, 


back  utter'y  worstcl  in  liertask.  "  It  is  France,  not  En<i;laiKl, 
we  are  in,"  we  exclaim  as  we  mount  the  steej)  and  narrftw,  wind 
in^  streets.  And  so  it  seems.  The  ])eopIe  are  attaclied  to  Enii;- 
land  only  by  weak  (\)lonial  bon'^s.  They  are  still  essentially 
French.  They  are  Catholies,  Their  lan<ji;nai;e,  their  customs 
and  sympathies  are  mainly  French.  The  statue  is  to  Mont- 
calm as  well  as  AVolfe. 

"Oh  for  a  ride  in  that  caleche,"  shouts  Miss  S.,  mistaking- 
that  modern  American  institution,  the  coach  of  the  St.  Louis 
Hotel  for  the  sinii;le  seated,  tip-over  lookin>i;  vehicle,  which  is 
the  prevailin<!;  conveyance  of  the  city.  She  is  pushed  into  the 
omnibus  with  more  force  than  orace,  and  her  face  wears  a  puz- 
zled, disai)poiiited  look  all  the  way  up  the  hill,  to  find  that 
instead  of  ridiiii*-  alone  with  the  handsome  driver  of  the  caleche 
she  is  oblit;-ed  to  ride  with  a  lot  of  other  girls  as  if  she  were  in 
Spi'inii'tield  instead  of  (Quebec. 

Yankee  enterprise  makes  some  headway  even  in  this  medie- 
val town.  Although  the  descriptions  written  fifty  years  n^o 
would  need  but  little  modification  so  slitijht  has  been  the  change, 
still  American  ca])ital  and  enterprise  are  visible  in  their  best 
hotel,  in  two  or  three  successful  manufacturing  establishments, 
and  in  some  other  departments  of  trade  and  in<lustry.  Hut 
Quebec  would  not  be  (Quebec  if  it  was  Chicago.  AVe  would 
not  see  it  change,  and  fain  would  have  removed  the  telegraph 
])ole8,  which  scaling  the  very  Citadel,  seemed  a  desecration  and 
a  blight.  The  dinner  at  the  St,  Louis  Hotel  was  a  great  suc- 
cess. There  was  a  certain  indescribable  d(»nt-care-if-Laint- 
sliaved  feeling  in  the  air  that  gave  a  peiniliar  abandon  to  the 
meal.     It  lingers  in  our  memory  yet.     ft  was  perhaps  not  our 


Summer  ok  1S85. 


1 1 


(lay  but  the  liistorian  tliouerl,t  he  eoiiM  foresee  that  he  liad  a 
(lay  coinin^r.  The  rain  falls  ;  the  fortune  is  told  ;  and  we  are 
soon  at  Montmorency  Falls. 

Three  hundi-ed   and   sixty-seven  multiplied    by  two  ecjuals 

how  many  ^     Ask  ]\Iiss  L.'  or  Miss  P, s.     They  will  tell  you 

more  about   it  than  the  lazy    historian,  who  seemed    perfectly 
satisiied  to  chaperone  a  party  of   young-   ladies  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs  and  shares  with  his  companions  in  their  gratification 
that  this  is  v>ne  of  the  few  things  they  dldnH  do. 
^  Tliat  night  was  the  only  one  when  we  retired  before  twelve 
o'clock,  iind   even  then  one  small   i)arty  escaped  the  watchful- 
ness of   the  chaperone  and   strolled  out  to  view  Quebec  from 
the  Esplanade   by  mooulight.     There  is  no  record  of  the  hour 
of  their  return,  but  your  historian  imagines  that,  with  Mr.  C.  for 
an  escort,  they  nmst  have  returned  very  early— in  the  morning. 
And   now  again  my  muse    halts.     Who  could  do  justice  to 
those    lialcyon  days  on  the  -  Union  P     Who  can    ever  forget 
the  vai'ied    panoramic  beauties  of   that  two  lumdred  and  fifty 
miles  upon    the  St.  Lawrence  and    Sagnenay,  or  who  can  re- 
member or  relate  them  all  ? 

For  twelve  hours  we  rode  down  the  broadening  waters  and 
between  the  receding  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Recall 
those  hours  now,  my  gentle  comrade,  and  seems  it  not  like  a 
single  moment  ?  Too  soon  the  shades  of  evening  close  around 
ns,  and  we  are  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagnenay.  With  woiuler- 
ful  self-control  we  had  denied  ourselves  the  pleasure  of  singing 
until  this  point  sliouhl  be  reached.  It  was  therefore  with  a  good 
deal  of  (piiet  satisfaction  that  we  grouped  ourselves  on  the 
forward  deck    just  as  our   boat  entered    the    Sagnenay.     The 


12 


A  Canadian  Excursion, 


passeiu'-ers,  most  of  thein  apprelieiidiiii;-  \vl)at  was  in  store, 
prndentlv  disappeared  to  other  parts  of  the  boat,  save  only  the 
more  hardy,  who  staid  to  listen  to  some  of  tliose  ohl,  familiar 
songs  which  are  sung  by  young  people  whenever  they  get  to- 
getlier  f)n  picnies,  drives  and  exeursions,  and  which  they  carry 
with  them  wherever  tliey  go,  into  every  continent   upon  the 

globe. 

But  for  a  little  while  we  couhl  not  sing,  overpowered  as  we 
were  hy  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  scenery.  Leaving 
the  broad  and  mighty  St.  Lawrence  we  turn  into  the  dark  and 
narrow  Saguenay,  palisaded  witli  liigh,  rocky  banks,  its  (k^ep, 
black  waters  lit  only  by  the  rays  of  the  full  moon.  All  felt 
the  inspiration  of  the  moment ;  and  as  we  proceeded  further  in- 
land, fanned  by  the  warm  breezes,  that  now  and  then  rutHed 
the  surface  of  these  romantic  waters,  it  seemed  as  if  the  old 
buying  jwef a  nascitur  no u  Jit  might  be  reversed,  if  one  could 
only  be  l)orn  and  live  along  these  now  uninhabited  shores. 

But  now  we  must  sing.  Mr.  i^.  has  his  book  of  songs,  and 
with  all  the  dignity  of  a  Sunday  School  superintendent,  he 
marshals  our  little  lland  for  their  first  concert.  1  do  not  wish 
to  criticize,  Imt  I  must  say  that  as  a  glee  club  we  were  not  a 
success,  though  our  glee  as  a  club  was  nn])recedente(l.  ^  We 
had  scarcely  finished  our  first  effort  over  some  well  known  Saxon 
melody  wlieu  a  little  grouj)  of  French  ladies  and  gentlemen 
began"  to  sing.  What  a  con'trast!  Theirs  were  the  words 
wliich  charm  and  soothe.  How  inexpressibly  approi)riate  the 
warm  words  of  their  Southern  tongue  to  the  scene  around 
us.  As  our  boat  cpiietly  glides  uj)  this  never  before  visited 
stream  anything  which  takes  us  back  or  renunds  us  of  home  seems 


Summer  of   1S85. 


>3 


out  of  place,  too  cold  and  barreu.  Thy  wild,  wioivl,  riMiuuitic 
music  of  Offenbach,  clothed  in  its  native  dress  is  at  once  in 
hanuony  with  the  suiTonndin<i^s,  and  floats  out  over  the  water 
with  indescribahly  paetic  baautj  as  wo  round  some  hi;^h,  pro- 
jecting [)romoutory  and  skirt  the  echoing  walls  of  rock. 

I  think  my  views  may  liave  l)een  shared  by  others  of  the 
party,  for  soon,  as  though  they  could  stand  it  no  longer,  our 
Sunday  School  class,  in  little  groups,  sought  out  serpiostered 
parts  of  the  boat.  (Your  historian  is  not  informed  how  niaiiv 
engagements  will  date  from  this  night.  So  far  the  oidy  en- 
gagement which  has  come  to  his  ears  is  the  engagement  of  the 
President  of  the  ]\ronai-ch  Parlor  Car  Co.  as  regular  corres- 
pondent of  the  Springfield  Union,  and  it  is  said  that  in  conse- 
quence he,  with  his  three  daughters,  A ida,  Leonora  and  An- 
nie, will  make  Springfield  his  permanent  homo.) 

Your  historian  was  now  seized  with  a  great  feeling  of  lone- 
liness and,  for  him,  remarkable  drowsiness.  lie  sought  the 
cabin  and  fell  asleep  and  'beamed  the  following  dream  : 


The  boat    had  come  to  anchor  in  the  middle  of  tl 


le  moon-lit 


river,  directly  beiu^ath  the  frowning  battlements  of  Ca[)e  Eter- 
nity. This  had  been  done  at  the  re([uest  of  Mr.  M.,  who  had 
remarked  to  the  Captain  that  Saturday  was  "his  dav  "  and  he 
intended  to  run  this  boat  to  suit  himself.  It  was  past  mid- 
night; the  cha])erone  came  to  him  and  instead  of  recpiesting 
him  to  tell  the  young  ladies  to  go  to  bed,  she  simply  tohl  him 
to    bid    them   good    night.     Wliat   ex(piisite    thoughtfulness. 


The  hint  was   unheeded.     Far  out 


in 


tl 


le   vcrv 


P' 


'OW  o 


f  tl 


le 


boat  sat    Mr.  W.  S,  and    Miss  W.  counting   stars   and    eating 
taffy.     In  a  hammock  swung  out  over  the  water  sat  Mr.  F.  S. 


M 


A  Canadian  Excursion, 


and  two  yoww^  hidies  to  whom  he  eonlidud  the  secret  that  he 
intended  to  write  a  novel  based  on  this  trip.  ( Yonr  historian 
wishes  to  remark,  in  brackets,  that  lie  has  known  Fred,  for 
many  years,  and  that  his  preoccnpied  air  on  this  trip  was  some- 
thin'»-  nnnsnal  and  I  verily  believe  that  he  was  all  the  time 
collectino;  in  his  mind  material  for  a  modern  society  novel 
which  miijht  take  rank  as  that  nmch  sought  bnt  never  found 
desideratmu — the  great  American  novel.)  Behind  a  boat  in 
the  stern  sat  a  group  of  four,  like  a  New  Haven  ham  sandwich, 

:\[r.  0.,  Miss  b.,  Mr.  II.  and  :Miss  B s.     In  all  parts  of  the 

l)()at  Mr.  M.  was  to   be  discovered,  accompanied    by  his   fair 
companion,  like  Siamese  twins.     He  dreamed   that   he  could 

not  iiud  Mr.  B.  or  Miss  B r,  which  so  frightened  him  that 

he  almost  waked  u]).  He  dreamed  that  he  saw  Mr.  O.  and  the 
fair  remaining  mendier  of  the  party  strolling  alone,  and  then 
he  did  wake  up.  "What  a  blamed  fool  to  go  to  sleep  such  a 
night  as  this,"  he  exclaimed,  and  he  sallied  out  from  the  cabin 
to  see  if  his  dream  was  true.  He  found  it  true  to  the  letter  ! 
Xo  wonder  that  he  lost  his  hat  overboard  ;  no  \vonder  that  he 
sought  to  cool  his  distracted  thoughts  in  the  bottom  of  a  boat; 
no  wonder  that  he  thought  that  this  was  no  scene  for  a  place 
like  this,  and  remarked,  "  Well,  Saturday  is  not  my  day  and 
ril  put  a  great,  black  border  round  that  day  on  my  cards." 
J?ut  soon  he  grew  more  cheerful,  and  determined  upon  a  sere- 
nade. Donning  the  garl)  of  an  ancient  troubadour,  the  main 
feature  of  which  consisted  in  a  white  handkerchief  knotted 
over  his  exposed  locks  and  i)utting  his  voice  into  good  basso 
profnndo  condition,  he  stole  around  the  l)oat  and  halting  with- 
in a  short  distance  of  the  several  groups  before  mentioned,  he 


mmM'! 


SUMMKR    OK     I.S85. 


sang  witli    (rroat    fervor  and    mncli  o.\i)res.sion    tlio    t'ollowiii<^' 
souif,  to  tlio  tnne  of  "  Marching  through  Georgiii  :" 

"  Seems  10  iric  F  luar  n  noise, 
Tlierc's  s(miic  odc  loitering  near. 
Let  us  ttiroiii>h  ilic  midnijjlu  gloom  diligenll)-  peer, 
To  see  wliat  dangerous  clinracters  are  loitering  here. 
Under  the  cover  of  the  darkness. 
Choi  Its — Hollo,  hollo,  I  think  1  apprehend. 

Hollo,  hollo,  it's  a  case  ot  niiiliial  fiiend. 
Two  souls  with  hut  a  single  thought, 
Two  hearts  as  one  that  hlend, 

Under  the  cover  of  the  darkness. 

I  wonder  what  it's  hesi  to  do. 
Shoidd  I  interfere  ? 

No,  it's  not  iny  funeral,  and  that  is  very  clear. 
Tliink  I  ought  to  let  them  know  I  can  overhear. 
Under  the  cover  of  darkness." 

Ilis  efforts  were  rewarded,  and  startled  from  their  coverts, 
he  succeeded  in  adjourning  the  crowd  to  the  saloon,  where  all 
])artook  of  tin  early  morning  huich. 

"  What  have  I  ei'er  done,"  that  I  should  be  selected  to  de- 
scribe what  was,  to  me  at  any  rate,  an  ideal  Sunday.  To  be 
sure  it  was  not  like  one  of  our  boiiutifnl  New  P]ngland  Sab- 
baths, to  which  I  am  attaclied  by  all  the  sentiments  of  custom, 
habit  and  iidierited  instinct.  But  is  there  only  one  way  to 
worship  God  ^  Is  that  the  only  true  worship  which  escliews 
the  glories  of  nature  and  substitutes  the  prosy  words  of  the 
doctrinaire?  If  I  have  ever  truly  worshipped  the  onmiscieuce 
of  the  Almighty  it  was  when  we  sailed  past  those  two  awful, 
grand  and  terrible  rocks,  known  as  Cape  Eternity  and  ('ai>e 
Trinity.     Our  great  steamer  seemed    like  a  little   cockle-shell 


i6 


A  Canadian  Excursion, 


boiieatli  tlieir  sluulow.  Their  very  grandeur  was  intensified  by 
the  inuui!:e:;  of  f!ie  Vii-gln  and  tlie  cross  j)laiited  on  their  suni- 
niit.'^.  Did  we  scoff  at  the  credulity  and  superstition  of  those 
wiio  liave  ])l,iced  tliese  einhlenis  tiiere  i  \o.  We  felt  that 
faith  and  woi-ship  inspii-ed  their  souls;  and  who  of  us  should 
judge  them  I  These  great  rucks  preached  to  us  the  sermon  of 
the  insignificance  of  all  men  when  with  their  pigmy  minds 
they  peer  into  the  mysteries  which  hang  around  the  grand  and 
terrible  objects  of  nature.  Who  will  not  say,  with  the  poet, 
there  are  "  books  in  the  running  brooks,  sermons  in  stones, 
and  good  in  everything." 

Riviere  du  Lou[)  is  still  fresh  in  our  minds.  Tadousac, 
with  its  imck-boards  and  its  historic  cathedral  Avill  never  be 
forgotten.  We  do  not  know  which  to  doubt  the  most,  wheth- 
er Parson  Murray  drove  our  buck-board  over  the  rocky  road 
or  the  tradition  that  the  lamp  which  hangs  in  the  little,  old 
cathedral  has  been  kept  constantly  burning  for  over  two  hun- 
dred years. 

It  was  midnight,  we  had  passed  out  into  the  St.  Lawrence  ; 
we  had  reached  Murray  Bay ;  a  stop  of  an  hour  was  an- 
nounced, and  with  our  usual  spirit  of  seeing  everything  there 
was  to  be  seen,  and  doing  everj'thing  there  was  to  be  done, 
M'e  left  the  boat  and  scaled  the  steep  hill  on  which  this  Canadian 
summer  resort  is  situated.  We  entered  the  parlor  of  the  hotel 
and,  having  gained  permission,  we  listened  to  ]y[r.  C.  sing. 
Whatever  restrictions  I  may  have  passed  on  the  singing  of  our 
party  as  a  whole,  allow  me  to  state  that  I  had  no  desire  to  re- 
flect in  any  way  on  our  soloists.  lie  sang  with  splendid  effect. 
All  was  bc'ightened  by  our  surroundings.     It  seemed  so  strange 


Summer  of  1SR5. 


'7 


to  be  way  up  tlioro  overlooking  the  grandly  beiiutifiil  St.  Law- 
rence. Far  l)elo\v  11s  rested  our  boat  on  tlie  hardly  rippled  river, 
extending  out  like  a  great  lake  to  the  coast  of  Maine,  almost 
farther  than  the  eye  could  reach.  In  another  direction  froin 
our  lofty  jiosition  we  could  see  nestling  in  tlic  woods  a  little 
lake.  And  the  whole  scene  bathed  in  moonlight!  Every 
heart  responded  to  the  song. 

Once  more  we  are  in  Quebec.  It  is  six  o'clock  Monday 
morniuir.  From  that  houi-  till  the  honr  we  leave — two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon — we  crowd  into  the  rapidly  flying  mimites 
more  pleasure  and  instruction  tlian  wouhl  seem  possible.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  describe  it  all,  I  will  only  mention  what 
all  remember  so  well  —  The  Place  d'Armes,  Durham  and 
Dufferin  Terrace,  Governor's  (larden,  the  Ursuline  Convent 
the  Esplanade,  the  Citadel,  the  Parliament  Ihiildings,  the 
Martello  Towers,  Wolfe's  Monument  beai-ing  those  fateful 
words,  "  Here  fell  Wolfe  victorious  ;"  the  Battery  and  La- 
val University.  I  cannot  forbear  recalling  however  our 
visit  to  the  French  Cathedral,  where  a  slight  fee  gave  us 
the  privilege  of  examining  the  robes  of  the  priests  used  on 
state  occasions.  At  sight  of  each  new  vestment  the  girls 
could  not  suppress  their  ci-ies  of  delight.  ''Oh  is'nt  that 
lovely !  Oh  I  Oh  I  "  was  heard  on  all  sides,  to  the  anmsemont  of 
the  gentlemen  who  felt  as  if  they  were  atan  opening  of  Jor- 
dan and  Marsh's  rather  than  in  the  presence  of   sacred  things. 

Our  entry  into  the  various  stores,  bent  on  shopping,  caused  a 
perfect  stampede,  we  bought  everything,  from  a  toboggan  to 
a  pair  of  gloves.  Hundreds  of  dollars' worth  of  "Souvenirs" 
crossed  the  line  that  night,  which,  thanks  to  the  good    fortune 


1 8 


A  Canadian  Excursion, 


of  luiviiiij^  ii  Sunday  Scli;))!  s".ii)oi'inteiidoiit  on  board,  escaped 
all  duty.  An  Orthodox  deayjn  could  lut  have  performed 
this  delicate  duty  better.  And  then  that  group!  What  ma- 
niacs we  sojmed  to  the  gonial  photo ^raphur. 

Dinner  at  one  thirty  P.  M.     What,  must  we  really  go! 

And  then  for  the  first  time  a  feeling  of  sadness  came  ovei 
us,  as  we  began  to  reahze  that  we  were  indeed  going  lioine. 
This  was  the  only  mar  to  our  pleasure,  the  only  cloud  over- 
hanging tlie  remainder  of  our  trip.  Old  and  experienced 
boarding-school  girls  said  they  never  saw  anything  like  the 
ease  with  which  young  girls  on  board,  who  had  never  before 
been  away  from  tlieir  parents  had  been  able  to  reconcile  them- 
selves to  the  situation.  "  Why,''  said  one  to  me,  "  when  I  went 
away  to  school,  we  gathered  round  the  piano  the  first  night 
and  sang  '  Home,  Sweet  Home '  and  cried  all  the  evening." 
I  ventured  to  ask,  "Do  \<  tliink  you  would  have  done  so,  if 
you  had  gone  to  a  school  wiiere  they  believed  in  co-education?" 
But  I  could  only  extract  the  naive  reply,  "  The  gentlemen  of 
this  party  have  been  very  kind  and  thoughtful." 

The  ride  back  to  Newport  was  not  devoid  of  incident. 
Owing  to  some  accident,  we  had  to  do  without  our  luxu- 
rious Monarch  car.  However  we  were  easily  consoled  when 
we  found  that  our  new  car  had  movable  seats,  for,  removing 
all  the  seats  to  one  side  of  the  car,  we  proceeded  to  dance  the 
Virginia  reel,  which  became  a  perfect  break  down  as  our  car 
with  its  precious  load  reeled  over  the  rough  and  uneven  track. 

On  reaching  Newport  we  found  comfortable  quarters  awai- 
ting us,  a  few  were  favored  with  letters  from  home  and  ^  e 
realized  that  we  were  back  once  more  in   the   United   States. 


Summer  of  1885. 


«9 


Tuesday  was  our  last  day,  and  we  deterniiiied  to  make  a  day 
and  (as  the  sequel  shows)  a  iiii^ht  of  it. 

"We  begaii  well  hy  jjjoin^  without  breakfast,  u  scheine  which 
18  recoinuieuded  to  all  travellers  desirous  of  gaining  time. 
The  events  and  incidents  of  that  day  are  still  fresh  in  our  mem- 
ory. Imagine  a  girl  of  charming  conversational  powers  at 
your  side,  the  occasional  interruptions  of  orchestral  musicy 
the  st(j[)s  at  various  points  along  this  most  beautiful  of  Ameri- 
can and  Canadian  lakes,  the  air  cool  and  refreshing;  and  you 
liave  a  })rogrannae  which  turns  a  hot  July  day  into  Elysium. 
On  our  way  up  the  Lake  we  8top])ed  at  the  Mountain  House 
and  enjoyed  a  row,  at  least  your  historian  did,  and  he  cannot  be 
expected  to  relate  in  i)articular  the  })leasures  which  he  did 
not  enjoy. 

Shortly  after  returning  on  board  there  was  a  cry  of  "man 
overboard  !"  "who  is  it^'  we  shouted.  "  Puncheon,''  was  the 
answer.  Who  is  Puncheon^  well  now  Puncheon  was  a  most 
intimate  companion  of  one  of  the  young  ladies.  I  had  never 
known  him  before  by  that  name,  and  fearing  that  some  others 
may  be  as  ignorant,  I  will  give  you  the  name  of  liis  younger 
brother — Vinaigrette.  If  this  should  not  suffice,  I  will  state 
that  he  was  a  bottle  of  cologne.  Of  course  -the  loss  of  the 
Puncheon  was  of  more  im])ortance  than  that  of  a  real  man 
would  have  been,  so  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  article  in 
(piestion  had  been  left  at  the  Mountain  House  several  volun- 
teered to  go  after  it.  It  was  ca[)tured  in  triumph  by  Mr.  O. 
and  returned  to  its  weeping  owner.  If  our  party  as  a  party 
should  ever  adopt  a  crest,  I  would  suggest  a  puncheon  ram- 
pant. 

But  why  is  Mr.  M.  so  sleepy  ?  Alas  that  night  on  the  Sague 


90 


A  Canadian  Excursion. 


nay  is  I'Jist  and  <!:oiu'.  Tuesday  is  7iot  his  day.  lV[r.  O.  lias 
come  in  aliead  on  the  home  stretch.  "NFr.  M.  earefnlly  turns 
his  celhiloi*!  collnr  fortlie  hist  time  and  lies  down  for  a  nap  on 
the  forward  deek.  But  the  fates  do  not  smile,  he  awakens  too 
soon  to  |)ay  the  desired  forfeit. 

I  will  not  dwell  on  the  danee  at  the  Memphrema^o<;  Rouse — 
because  I  did  not  dance.  I  will  not  dwell  on  the  storm  that 
drove  our  hoats  so  suddenly  to  land — because  I  did  not  ^et 
wet.  I  will  not  dwell  on  my  dreams  in  the  Parlor  Car  that 
night — because  I  did  not  go  to  sleep.  I  will  not  dwell  on 
that  l»reakfast  in  Springfield  Wednesday  morning— -because  I 
was  not  there. 

We  leave  Newport  for  Springfield  at  11.30  P.  J\l.  "Go  to 
bed,  Holy  Shaker.  Xo!"  exclaims  one  of  the  young  ladies. 
With  song  and  shout  most  of  us  pass  the  last  hours  of  our  trip 
riding  down  the  Connecticut  Valley.  We  breakfast  at  AVind- 
sor  at  3  A.  M.  The  coffee  wards  off  all  drowsiness.  Some  of 
lis  see  the  sun  rise  for  the  first  time.  It  was  a  wild,  mad 
ending  to  our  trip. 

Greenfield  is  reached  at  6.13  A.  M.  and  your  historic  n  is 
left  standing  on  the  platform,  wondering  what  he  will  write 
that  can  possibly  interest  the  crowd  who  wave  adieus  from  the 
back  platform  of  the  receding  car.  lie  craves  the  indulgence 
of  his  companions  and  suggests  as  a  moral  that  when  we  go 
on  another  excursion,  first,  that  the  historian  may  know  what 
is  expected  of  him  before  the  last  night  of  the  trip ;  and  second, 
that  the  discerning  and  observant  mind  of  girlhood  may  recall 
our  pleasures  and  recount  our  joys,  and  with  greater  tact  and 
skill  wield  the  historian's  pen. 


Ik 


